First-Place Tigers Look To Build EIVA Advantage, Starting Friday In Showdown At Penn State

WEEKEND LINKS
Penn State: Live Video l Live Stats
St. Francis: Live Video l Live Stats

The Princeton men's volleyball team will look to build its advantage atop the EIVA standings with a challenging road weekend, which starts Friday night when the Tigers look to extend their win streak to three against Penn State.

Wait, what?

It's true, Princeton is looking for its first three-match win streak over Penn State in program history Friday when the two teams meet at 7 pm in Rec Hall in a match streamed live on BTN2Go (see link above). The Tigers had never swept the season series — they had never even won at Penn State — prior to last season, but Princeton used a pair of wins over the Nittany Lions to build a path to the 2018 EIVA championship match. While an early March home win ended in a 15-13 fifth-set thriller, Princeton's first ever win at Penn State was actually a businesslike 3-0 win in mid-April. George Huhmann was the dominant presence in both matches, and those would be two big reasons he capped his sophomore season with All-America honors.

Huhmann has gotten off to another strong start this season, but classmate Parker Dixon would be in the running for EIVA Player of the Year honors at the midway point of the 2019 season. The two-time EIVA Offensive Player of the Week had 20 kills and hit .563 in last weekend's win over reigning champ Harvard, and he had 15 kills, four digs and two blocks in a win over nationally ranked George Mason one week earlier. He's one of three players in the EIVA to rank in the top five in both kills and hitting percentage this season, and he'll go head-to-head against another later in the weekend.

While Princeton has gotten off to a 5-0 start in league play, Penn State is just off the pace with a 4-1 league mark. The Nittany Lions' lone league loss came on the road to George Mason, and they are 5-1 at home this season, with the only loss coming by a 3-2 score against #4 BYU. Penn State has multiple players averaging more than three points per set, including Jason Donorovich, a middle who is hitting .411 for the season.

While the Penn State match naturally draws the most attention, Princeton is well aware of the challenges that Saint Francis will present Saturday at 4 pm. The Red Flash handed George Mason a home loss last weekend to move into the EIVA top four, and Michael Fisher currently leads the EIVA in kills while ranking fifth in attack percentage. Princeton has a longer road losing streak at Saint Francis (three) than any other team in the league.

Following the road trip, Princeton will have a busy week of New Jersey competition, starting next Tuesday with a 7 pm home league match against NJIT; that match with be Pride Night at Dillon Gym. On March 8, the Tigers will complete a home-and-home by heading to Newark for a 6 pm match at NJIT. On Saturday night, Princeton will return to Dillon for a 7 pm showdown with Lewis, which is currently the 10th-ranked team in the nation.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Recent Results